Weapon holsters have been used throughout history for supporting swords in mideviel times to the 19th century western holsters for firearms. Typical weapon holsters are in plain view to appear as weapon holsters when seen by others. The U.S. through the second amendment to the Constitution referred to as the "right to bear arms" has allowed individual states to enact laws allowing citizens the right to own and carry firearms. Many states such as Florida have allowed for concealed weapons permits, where a user for a permit fee and from taking a state approved course can carry their firearm weapon in a concealed fashion on their person.
However, the concealed weapon permits have been problematic in implementation. The majority of current concealed weapon type holsters must be deeply hidden beneath layers of clothing and are thus not immediately accessible during an emergency. For example, a popular shoulder type holster has the firearm supported under a user's armpit area usually beneath an outer piece of clothing such as a jacket. Another popular type of concealed weapon's holster must be worn on the lower part of the leg, which can be a distant reach for use in an emergency. The common citizen in an emergency would have a split second to fumble through opening their jacket or lift up a pants leg in order to raise and draw the weapon during an emergency. This lengthy delay helps the aggressor realize the victim is trying to defend themselves, and in essence gives the aggressor time to prepare, react and ruin any element of surprise by the victim. The hand maneuvering necessary to reach their concealed weapon also puts the victim in a more defenseless position by restricting at least one of their hands to be used to defend against the aggressor. Using these holsters has further difficulties if the aggressor is fleeing on foot and the victim has to give chase, and must then grope through their clothing to retrieve their weapon while running.
Attempts have been made to carry a concealed weapon but have failed to overcome the problems addressed above. Many women have used their purses to conceal their firearms. However, the purse holders require using at least one of their hands or a shoulder to support the purse at all times. Unzipping a purse with the other hand puts both hands temporarily out-of-commission until the weapon is drawn.
Still furthermore, "fanny packs" have been used where hook and loop fasteners such as Velcro.RTM. fasten about a user's belt. However, these hook and loop fasteners can allow the gun to be stolen by being pulled off the wearer. Additionally these types of fasteners can be disengaged causing the holster to drop during quick jerking motions. The resultant loss of the weapon could cost the life of the user or other innocent persons. Additionally, "fanny packs" do not go with and would look out-of-place with formal work clothing such as dress shirts and ties.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,424 to Stava, describes a "weapon pouch and disguise." The Stava patent describes a large obtrusive rectangular type pouch with zipable panels. The large rectangular pouch is labelled "POLICE" and is described primarily for use by law enforcement persons. Regular citizens would not wish to nor under the law be able to identify themselves as law enforcement persons, and thus would have difficulty using this device. Furthermore, the large bulky nature of this pouch must be oversized to complete encompass a firearm and would be too bulky for many persons such as women to use. Still furthermore, the '424 patent requires hook straps 31, 32 FIG. 3 to support the firearm separately against the back wall inside the rectangular pouch. During an emergency these straps could inhibit immediate withdrawal of the firearm. Still furthermore, the Stava '424 patent requires the wearer to "firmly" pull down on a lanyard type hanging cord labelled a thong 25 FIG. 1. Grabbing this loose hanging cord could be difficult in an emergency when the user may have to take their eyes off the aggressor to locate the flimsy hanging lanyard type cord. Using this pull cord is even more difficult if the wearer is walking and running which would cause the lanyard type cord to be moving and swinging about. The user would have more difficulty locating and grabbing about the hanging cord.
Thus, the need exists for a practical solution to the above problems with the prior art.